-monselise



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G. MONSE'LISE. PROCESS OF EXTRAGTING SUGAR PROM SORGHUM.

No. 522,478. Patented July s, 1894,

(No Model.) 3 ShetsShet 2.

' W G. MONSBLISE.

PROCESS OF EXTRAGTING SUGAR FROM SORGHUM.

Patented July 3,1894

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v G. MO'NSELISE. PROCESS OF EXTRAOTING SUGAR FROM SORGHUM.

No. 522,47 v Patented July 3, 1894.

1 UNITED ,STATESPATENT OFFICE-I.

GIULIO MONSELISE', OF MILAN, ITALY.

PROCESS OF EXTRACTING SUGAR FROM SORGHUM.

SPEGIFIGATIQN forming part of Letters Patent No. 522,478, dated July 3,1894.

Application filed July 24. 1889. Serial N9. 318,567; (No model.)Patented in Italy August 8, 1885, No. 18,653. and October 31,1886,N0.20.522, and in France June 25,1889, no. 199,158.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GIULIO MONSELISE, a subject of the King of Italy,residing at Milan, Italy, have invented a new Process for the Extractionof Sugar from Sorghum, (for which I have obtained Letters Patent inItaly, No. 18,653, dated August 8, 1885, and No. 20,522, dated October31,v 1886, and in France, No. 199,158, dated June 25,1889,) of which thefollowing is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide an improved process for themanufacture of sugar from sorghum, which I accomplish in the manner andby the means hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1, is a general plan of acomplete apparatus adapted for use in carrying my invention into efiect.Fig. 2,'is a side elevation of the roller press forming part of theapparatus. Fig. 3, is a plan view of the same. Figs. 4 and 5, are detailviews illustrating a vertical section and a side elevation respectivelyof the macerating vats.

The cane to be treated is deprived of its stems and is then subjected tothe action of a roller press E, where it is fed down the table f andbetween the cast iron crushing rolls 0, d, e. These rolls areadjustablewith respect to one another as shown in Fig. 2. The cane afterpassing between the rolls 0, d, e, is carried between the rollers b, b,one ofwhich is preferably made of wood and the other of cast iron andgrooved. It then passes to the bar g, having a cutting edge on its frontupper portion. In front of the bar '9 and almost in contact with it, aheavy helicoidal knife a is caused to rotate so that by the action ofthe said knife a in. conjunction with the cutting edge of the bar 9 thecrushed canes are reduced to minute pieces. The fragments of cane arenext digested with water in the macerating vats E, Figs. 1, 4 and 5,that are arranged to be heated by means of steam. These vats E are madeof wrought iron and turn upon pivots as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, tofacilitate the discharge of the substances contained in them after thedigestion or maceration has been effected. In each vat E one of therotating pivots istubular and receives through a stuffing box a coppertube g, which enters the vat and terminates in a coil 72.. Near thebottom of each vat is a false bottom '5 that is perforated, to allow thesaccharine liquid to pass through, and below this is a discharging cockis. When a vat is to be emptied, its longitudinal axis is kept in ahorizontal position by a cord or other'flexible tie connecting thehandleZ with the ring m. The crushed and comminuted cane fragmentsdischarged from the vats are then squeezed in the presses G to stillfurther, extract the moisture. The juices thus obtained, when coqlpd,are defecated by means of a small pro portion of tannin mixed withsufficient lime to render the juices slightly alkaline. This operationis accomplished in defecators D of any suitable construction. I findthat a proportion of from .008 to.012 of tannin produces good results,and with the addition of a small quantity of lime completes thedefecation. The defecated juices are transferred to heating tanks Lwhere the temperature of the juice is raised to about 95 centigrade orabout 203 Fahrenheit. The coagnlable material is thus separated from theliquid, which. is allowed to rest for about ten minutes and is thenpoured into other tanks H from which it is drawn into a vacuum pan M bymeans of a pump N. While the liquid is in the tanks H a small proportionof salicylic acid (about .O05'to .008) is added thereto for the purposeof decolorizing the liquid. The proportion of salicylic acid employedshould not be snfficient to saturate the lime, and after its additionthe juice should still show an alkaline reaction. The salicylic acid istransformed into salicylate of lime, and hence no free salicylic acid ispresent in the-saccharine liquid, and no antisceptic action is exertedby it, its only function being that of a decolorizing agent. By thismethod of defecating the juice,

by means of tannin and lime, and decolorizing by means of salicylicacid, the usual necessity of precipitating the excess of lime withcarbonic acid, and decolorizing with bone-black, is avoided. The smallexcess of lime present in the liquid combines with the salicylic acid assalicylate of lime; or the excess of lime may be eliminated by the useof carbonic acid or in any other well known manner. By this process,also, transparent liquids can be obtained directly without resorting tothe employment of filterpresses, as usually required.

In the vacuum pan M boiling is carried to the point of incipientgranulation. Ihe boiling mass is then conducted into steam heated sheetiron receptacles B where crystallization is effected after which, bymeans of hydro-extractors A, a solid and granular sugar is obtained.

In the apparatus illustrated tanks 0 are provided for collecting themolasses.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is- The hereindescribed process of extracting sugar from sorghum, which consists inreduc-' ing the cane to small pieces, subjecting the fragments tomaceration under the action of GIULIO MONSELISE.

Witnesses:

VALENTINO RAVISSA, 0. E, GIOVANNI BATTISTA FALIVA.

